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Directed by Larry Fessenden.
A quiet and ethereal film about and equally quiet and ethereal creature. The Wendigo may be the most ill-defined creature in all of horror. Not just because the Wendigo pulls directly from many different tales of Native American lore, but the fact that the perfect Wendigo film has yet to be made. Antlers from 2021 is close, but that’s a whole other story.
Director, and all around friend of horror, Larry Fessenden took on the assignment in 2001, and pulled together an interesting cast, setting, and story. Problem was Fessenden’s take was heavy on family and LIGHT on Wendigos.
For the uninitiated, the Wendigo is an evil spirit/creature that has existed in some form or another everywhere from the Great Plains, to eastern Canada, and all the way back to the Great Lakes. Described in many different ways the Wendigo is commonly seen as a zombie-like demonic creature with a cannabalistic taste for human flesh. Interestingly, the Wendigo’s insatiable appetite doesn’t come with much rhyme or reason. It just kills to kill.
Some see the Wendigo as a human-like demon sent forth to correct imbalances in an individual’s psyche and their excessive consumption. Enter George (Jake Weber, Dawn of the Dead) a stressed out photographer and his wife Kim (Patricia Clarkson, the Woods and Shutter Island), and their 10-year-old son Miles (Erik Per Sullivan, Malcolm in the Middle). The trio makes a break from the hustle and bustle of New York City for the remote and wintery confines of a cozy cabin in the woods.
While traveling to their cabin, George hits a deer in the road and is immediately confronted by a group of angry hunters led by alpha-male Otis. Otis irrationally explains that George ruined the deer’s antlers by hitting the deer that he had shot. Fessenden initially appears to be setting up a Straw Dogs-esque encounter, but the film quickly diverts to a benign, long, and uninteresting encounter between George and Otis.
The film eventually teases out the existence of the Wendigo — both through some light CGI animation and a mix of practical effects — but the mythical creature appears far too little and far too late in the film. There’s a little push and pull between the urban George and the rural Otis, but most of the characters, while exceptionally well acted, are written in a fairly thin and staid manner.
Fessenden does get to the core of the Wendigo mythos by examining revenge and karma-like themes, but this Wendigo is a blur of a creature who doesn’t appear all that interested in cannibalism and tearing people limb from limb. A kinder and gentler Wendigo to be sure.
While Larry Fessenden has embraced all elements of horror film making, Wendigo is his third (depending on how you count it) feature length film. His craft has only gotten tighter and more chilling. Which is not to say the Wendigo is not a good film. It’s just a tad uneven. There are no real scares, and as we’ve already said, the Wendigo doesn’t substantially show up until the tail end of the final act. Wendigo has some interesting elements, but unfortunately, this, like many others, is not the perfect Wendigo film.
Wendigo is Rated R and available on VHS and for free on TUBI.